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The Walt Disney World Skyliner gondola transportation system is set to open at the end of September for the general public. It’s currently under test and adjust. But, what will happen if the Skyliner requires evacuation?
Disney has to think about all possibilities when adding an attraction or transportation system. This particular system, the Disney Skyliner, not only travels over land, but over water as well. That means there’s an extra challenge when evacuating the Skyliner in the event of a breakdown.
So, Disney is going to use special Skyliner evacuation boats. The boats are designed to allow the guests to be evacuated down to the boat and transported safely to a nearby dock. I’m sure the evacuation won’t be too quick, but safety comes first.
My friend John from the “What’s that like? Podcast” recently captured a photo of the Skyliner gondola evacuation boat at the Art of Animation resort and is sharing here with all of us.
As you can see from the photo, the special boat is three decks high with stairs to assist in the need of a water evacuation. A reminder that the Skyliners are NOT air conditioned. They use passive airflow with tilt out windows to create a level of cooling. I’m not sure I’d want to be stuck in one of them in the heat of our Orlando area Summer, but gondola systems are very reliable, so hopefully it won’t occur very often.
Approximate travel times:
• Caribbean Beach Resort to Hollywood Studios: 5-6 minutes
• Caribbean Beach Resort to Pop Century Resort or Art of Animation Resort: about 6 minutes
• Caribbean Beach Resort to Riviera Resort: about 5 minutes
• Caribbean Beach Resort to International Gateway at Epcot: around 15 minutes
• Riviera Resort to International Gateway at Epcot: about 9 minutes
Are you looking forward to riding on the new Disney Skyliner?
Share the love!
K. Finn
Tuesday 8th of October 2019
What an intuitive article!
John Knowles
Monday 16th of September 2019
I just noticed it out my AoA window, and took an inquisitive walk... glad I could help out your crew answer a potential questions... or as it seems... come up with many others. Thanks for sharing Kenny!
kennythepirate
Monday 16th of September 2019
Thanks for being a great friend John and best of luck on the fantastic podcasst!
Karen Taylor-Steward
Sunday 15th of September 2019
How would they evac people on mobility scooters when over water I see they have boats for a led bodied people but what if there is scooters on board what if a evacuation happens with scooters, buggies etc how would myself be evacuated over water or land
NikkusN.
Sunday 15th of September 2019
They may have one boat that is handicap accessible, but they might just make people with scooters and buggies take the monorail or other types of transportation.
Nancy
Saturday 14th of September 2019
If you are a single rider will you be seated with strangers in the gondola?
Kevin H Jones
Saturday 14th of September 2019
Hate to add to the cacophony, but I, too, am concerned about people with ambulatory issues. Many rides in WDW and other parks (that shall not be named) are at times plagued with start/stop issues created by those who plug up the flow. Imagine being stopped in those suspended hot boxes every so often by scooters coming on and off gondolas. There goes every bit of airflow.
Jason MacLaren
Sunday 15th of September 2019
They have places that pull gondolas off to the side for wheelchair and scooter entrances. Doesn't affect the rest of the line.
Emmit Stussey (@Truecoat)
Sunday 15th of September 2019
There’s a way to move gondolas off the main line for slower passengers.
Jesse Lee Hartley
Sunday 15th of September 2019
I saw a video for this handicap scooters the gondolas go off on a different track to depart or to load the are put back on the main track. It really quite cool to see.